I was diagnosed with PD ten years ago, and I've been on Sinemet for 8 or 9
years. (currently I take 1/2 Sinemet 25/100 every 3 hours; also parlodel and
eldepryl. )  For the last 2-3 years the side-effects were  very
bad--especially a dyskinesia I can only describe as writhing or squirming. I
tried most of the usual drugs in various combinations, but nothing was
working. On. Nov. 1, on my neurologist's recommendation, I had a right
pallidotomy, with, I think, excellent results. The dyskinesias are gone. I
still have occasional tremor, also difficulty in turning over in bed,,
occasional drooling. But I've regained weight and all sorts of
skills--zippers, shoelaces, panty-hose putting on, writing, typing, etc. I
feel like a semi-normal person again.
     I am considering  writing about my pallidotomy at some point--after
it's had more time to prove itself. I am interested in others' experiences
with the surgery, as patients or doctors. I also would like to access the
archives on it. I would also like to hear more about thalamic stimulation
and related procedures.
 ----------    It seems to me that  most members of  this group continue to
regard Sinemet as a wonder drug.  It's my feeling that it should be used
only when other drugs no longer are effective--since the honeymoon is
limited. --Nina  [[log in to unmask]].
>From: Barbara Patterson
>To: KingN
>Subject: Welcome
>Date: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 10:29PM
>
>Dear Nina:
>
>
>Welcome to the PARKINSN list.  Please send a message to the list
>(if you want to) introducing yourself and any Parkinson's-related
>topics you would like.
>
>Let me introduce myself.  I am a secretary for six faculty members
>in the School of Nursing, McMaster University.  In September, 1992, I was
>diagnosed as having Parkinson's...hence my interest in this list.
>
>This is my first attempt at being owner of a list so please
>bear with me.
>
>I have appended the guide below this message.  I hope you enjoy
>your involvement with the PARKINSN list.
>
>Barb
>
>
>cut cut snip snip cut cut snip snip cut cut snip snip cut cut
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>KEEP      KEEP      KEEP      KEEP      KEEP      KEEP      KEEP
>
>                       The PARKINSN Guide
>
>HOW TO POST A MESSAGE TO PARKINSN:
>
>     send mail message to:   [log in to unmask]
>
>     When you post a message, it is helpful if you
>     sign it and add your email address.  As example:
>
>       Barbara Patterson ([log in to unmask])
>
>     Many PARKINSN subscribers have mail headers which don't
>     display the origin of the note.
>
>HOW TO INTERACT WITH THE LISTSERVER:
>
>     To talk to the listserver, you want to send mail to the
>     LISTSERVER, not to everyone on PARKINSN.  Send a regular
>     mail message to:
>
>              [log in to unmask]
>
>     and in the body of the note, use any of the following
>     commands:
>
>NOTE:  Don't include the explanatory comments in (   ) below.
>
>SUBscribe PARKINSN Yourfirstname Yourlastname (Join the list)
>
>SIGNOFF PARKINSN (Leave the list. Your name is not required)
>
>REView PARKINSN     (Who else is on this list?  Get a list of
>                    subscribers' names and email addresses)
>
>Sort review list in a certain order:
>REView PARKINSN by country  (List sorted and counted by country)
>REView PARKINSN by name  (List sorted by name.  Last, then first)
>
>SET PARKINSN REPRO  (You get a copy of your own mail to PARKINSN)
>SET PARKINSN NOREPro (Set it back to NOT getting a copy of your
>                      own mail)
>
>SET PARKINSN DIGests (You get the day's mail in one large note
>                      with a table of contents, rather than note
>                      by note.  A good option if you don't
>                      like dealing with large quantities of
>                      incoming mail.)
>
>SET PARKINSN NOMAIL      (Temporarily stop getting mail from
>                         PARKINSN.  You're still subscribed.
>                         Useful when going on vacation)
>
>SET PARKINSN MAIL   (Start your PARKINSN mail coming again, or if
>                    your mail= option is set to DIGests, start
>                    your mail coming note by note again)
>
>SET PARKINSN CONCEAL     (If you don't want your name to appear
>                         on the REVIEW list)
>
>INDex PARKINSN      (Get a list of files you can retrieve from
>                     the PARKINSN listserver)
>
>GET PARKINSN filename   (Get a file from the PARKINSN listserver)
>
>Query PARKINSN      (Review your optional settings on PARKINSN)
>
>HELP                (Get a brief summary of listserv commands)
>
>INFO REFCARD        (Get more information on listserv commands)
>
>                      - - -  * * *   - - -
>ABOUT ARCHIVES:
>     All contributions to PARKINSN are automatically archived
>every month.  You can get these archive files by requesting the
>log file you want.  As example, to get the November and December
>1993 logfiles, you would send a message to the LISTSERVER and in
>the body of the note, you would type:
>
>GET PARKINSN LOG9311
>GET PARKINSN LOG9312
>
>
>The 1994 contributions are automatically archived every WEEK.  As an
example,
>to get the January, 1994 logfiles, you would sent the following message
>to the listserver:
>
>GET PARKINSN LOG9401A
>GET PARKINSN LOG9401B
>Additionally, the PARKINSN archives reside on the University of
>Toronto gopher and can be viewed and retrieved from that site.
>
>     For those of you who can gopher, at your system prompt type:
>
>          gopher vm.utcc.utoronto.ca
>
>               then choose #17 - LISTSERV archives
>
>                 - - - THE END - - -
>       To communicate with the list manager, send mail to:
>
>           Barbara Patterson ([log in to unmask])
>
>============================================================================
>Barbara Patterson
                              [log in to unmask]
>HSC 2J22                                        905-525-9140, ext. 22403
>                        School of Nursing
>============================================================================
>
>